Fantasy Flight Games to close RPG department

Following the confirmed news that Fantasy Flight Interactive, the digital games division of Fantasy Flight, is to close there are credible reports that the RPG department is being laid off as well.

Tim Gerritsen, the Studio Head at FFI, confirmed the closure of the digital division in a LinkedIn post.

A post on Reddit board games, now confirmed to be from Sam Bailey, a former FFG employee, added that most, if not all, of the RPG department, has also been laid off.

Gamasutra has sources that confirm the news, adding that the customer service department is included in the restructuring.

Fantasy Flight Games publish the best-selling Star Wars RPG, the Legend of the Five Rings, Genesys, The End of the World Roleplaying Game, Dragonstar, Fireborn, Grimm and Midnight.

Only yesterday, a KeyForge RPG was announced, as an extension to FFG’s universal Genesys system.

Fantasy Flight Games are yet to comment on the situation or confirm the RPG news.

The closure of the RPG department does not mean that the Star Wars, Genesys and Legend of the Five Rings RPGs are going away. Additional books can be created by freelancers and contractors.

Fantasy Flight Games is part of a larger company; Asmodee. Asmodee itself has been growing through acquisitions.

Asmodee Digital has been productive, successfully turning board game licenses into digital games. It has published games such as Gloomhaven, a Lord of the Rings digital trading card game, Pandemic and even running a Carcassonne digital game.

Asmodee itself signed a deal with Marvel late last year for a series of novels and audiobooks as set up Atomic Mass Studios with a new Marvel miniatures game as the first product.

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However, Asmodee itself was sold the private equity firm PAI Partners for $1.4b in 2018. Traditionally, equity firms look to make a profit on their investments, and this is often achieved by selling on their ownership of a more profitable company later on.